It is presently the practice in repairing damaged vinyl or plastic upholstered articles to remove the damaged portion from the article so as to leave an opening having a clean cut perimeter. Thereafter, a piece of backing cloth is placed underneath the opening so as to provide a support surface for the vinyl repair compound that is used in effecting the repair. The repair compound is in the form of a paste that is trowelled into the opening and smoothed level with the surrounding undamaged material. In order to cure or solidify the compound and join it to the surrounding material heat is applied to the repair compound usually by a hot air blower similar to a portable hair dryer. Often the paste compound must be applied in thin layers that are cured one at a time before the next layer of paste is trowelled into the repair area. Either a vinyl release paper having a surface texture to match the surface texture of the surrounding undamaged vinyl sheet or a silicone or plastic mold that was cast on the undamaged vinyl sheet so as to have the text thereof impressed on its surface is pressed against the repaired area before the paste is completely cured to emboss a surface texture on the repaired area that matches the surrounding vinyl sheet. When the repaired area is cured, the release paper or mold is stripped therefrom.
While the use of a heat cured compound is most prevalent, air cured compounds which do not require the application of heat are available. If such a compound is used, the release paper is laid over the soft paste and pressure is applied to the paper to obtain the desired surface texture on the repaired area. After the repair compound was cured, the release paper is stripped from the material leaving a repair that matches the surrounding material.
The foregoing repair techniques are, so far as is known, the only ones followed in effecting repairs to vinyl sheets or furniture coverings, and are reasonably satisfactory. However, they are beset by certain shortcomings or disadvantages. In the first place, working with the paste compounds is relatively messy. Secondly, such techniques lend themselves particularly to the repair of relatively small damaged areas because it is difficult to trowel a paste compound into an opening having a large surface area even though a backing cloth is used. It is also difficult to maintain a uniform thickness in a large area repair. Also, and most importantly, it has been found that in any but the smallest repairs, a paste compound does not achieve sufficient structural strength to provide a long lasting repair.